Glass Ceilings

by A. m Madden

  My wife met my eye while her teeth clamped over her bottom lip. Through the look in my eyes she knew exactly what I was thinking, causing a blush to spread over her cheeks. “What about Nicholas?”

  “He’ll be spending the night with his aunt and uncle at your place. You have late checkout tomorrow, and we don’t expect to see you a minute sooner.”

  Angela threw her arms around her cousin’s shoulders. “Thank you!”

  “You’re welcome. Room includes concierge service, so there’s no need to leave it once you get there,” Eve offered with an exaggerated wink.

  “Thanks, guys,” I added, eyeing Jase as he sported a grin.

  I offered him my hand and he said, “What the fuck is that?” Ignoring it, he instead wrapped his arms around me in a huge hug. “Enough with this stranger shit act you have going, Nick Smith.” When he released me, he slapped my shoulder adding, “We’re family now. Deal with it.”

  Chapter 32

  Nick

  “Wow, absolutely beautiful.”

  “I agree.”

  Her eyes scanned the room, slowly taking it all in. Yes, the way the bed was piled high with the finest linens, the way our feet sunk into the plush carpet, the way the gold- plated fixtures and white marble vanity sparkled in the bathroom all screamed decadent luxury, but I barely noticed any of it because my eyes were glued to her.

  “This room is just insane.” Turning to look at me, it was only then that my wife realized that I was staring at her. “What?” she asked when seeing the look on my face.

  “You’re so beautiful.” Pulling her flush into my body, I pinned her with my heated gaze. “That day at The Dump when you walked past me on your way out, you took my breath away.”

  “You saw me all of three seconds that night.”

  “In three seconds you captured my heart.”

  She quirked her lips to the side and flapped a hand against my arm. “You’re such a liar.”

  “It’s true. I’d never seen someone so beautiful in my life. Ask Jase. I sat staring at you through the window until you walked away. The next day I kept watching the door in hopes you’d come back…and then you did.”

  My eyes landed on her full parted lips as she slowly dragged her tongue over them.

  “You never told me that.”

  My fingertip followed the path her tongue took, running it from side to side. “I’m telling you now.” A pink tinge deepened over her cheeks. Keeping just my fingers on her face, I slowly traced the lines of her nose, chin, and forehead. I could see raw emotion pooling in the green depths of her eyes.

  Her hands against my chest, her face inches from mine, and my hardness pressing between us had me losing my train of thought. I couldn’t wait to remove that dress, but I had something to say first. I had decided to wait until we were alone, until I had her absolute undivided attention.

  Emotions were new to me, and I never had to voice them out loud before meeting her. I tended to think things, and not share. I needed to break that pattern, starting with my wife.

  I placed a chaste kiss on her lips before jumping right in. Lingering there any longer would derail my thoughts.

  “Angela, you take my breath away. You did two years ago, and you continue to steal it every day. Your smile leaves me breathless. Seeing you in this dress today.” I lifted her hand and kissed the diamond platinum band on her ring finger. “Seeing this on your hand, seeing you holding our son as the photographer took your picture, completely took my breath away. Watching you care for our son takes my breath away. Hearing you reading him a story, telling me about a memory I missed, laughing at something I said, it all leaves me breathless.”

  I ran my hand over the back of her head before burying my fingers in her hair. When her eyes focused on mine, I whispered, “I want to thank you.”

  “You’re thanking me?” She moved her hands to hold my face. “It’s you I need to thank, for forgiving me, for giving me our son, for loving us.”

  I shook my head in denial. “I was so wrapped up in what I lost during the time we spent apart that I never stopped to consider what you had lost and sacrificed, what you faced every day alone. Running from Ronnie, fearing for your life, our child’s life, even mine, all while nurturing our baby until you were able to deliver him safely, and then protecting him with every fiber of your being was very brave. So, thank you. I never want you to feel such fear ever again. For every minute of every day you had to endure that by yourself, for every tear you shed, every time that prick made you feel terror, for all you had to go through alone, I’m sorry.”

  “I would do it all again if it guaranteed me being here with you at this moment.”

  “I don’t want to even think about repeating the last two years.” She frowned when I did.

  “Will you tell me someday?”

  “Tell you?”

  “What you felt after I called you that night.”

  “Crushed.”

  Looking away, she swallowed audibly. “Nick, I’m so sorry.”

  “Hey, it’s over. All that matters is what happens from today forward.”

  I didn’t want to ruin our wedding day by divulging details, and just thinking about the very dark place where I had been after she ended it messed with my head. Some men revert to booze or drugs or even women after their hearts are shattered. I was no different, but I had chosen to drown my sorrows in my job, as well as a long line of women.

  Between the two, I’d been able to move through my day-to-day life in a trance. Ironically, one night was how she and I started, and how I continued to try to find someone else to forget her. I was constantly searching for a replacement in my one-night stands, and never found one. Not until I met Stacie had I felt anything at all toward a woman. Looking back now, even that didn’t come close to what I felt for Angela.

  Sensing that my mood shifted with my thoughts, she lifted up on her toes and kissed me long and hard. “From today forward,” she whispered when she pulled away.

  “From today forward.”

  “I love you, my husband.”

  “Show me,” I challenged.

  A wicked glint gleamed in her eyes when she kicked off her heels before slowly unbuttoning my shirt. Still staring at my face, she sunk her teeth into her plump bottom lip while unbuckling my belt. Leaning in, she planted a soft wet kiss in the center of my chest. Her lips never left my skin while her hands roamed over my shoulders taking my shirt with them. It made a faint thud on the carpet when it fell to the floor behind me.

  She combed over every inch of my upper body with her eyes, her hands, and her lips. But it was when her tongue slid over my flat nipple that I practically lost my shit. With a shy smile, she knelt before me, watching me through her lashes before focusing on my pants.

  My hard-on behind the zipper was begging to be let out. Knowing exactly what I needed, she unbuttoned, unzipped, and unwrapped my cock from the confining fabric surrounding it.

  She placed one soft kiss on the tip and pulled away. My need to be in her mouth was so overpowering, I leaned closer in hopes she’d get the hint. A small smile played on her face when she tapped my left leg. “Lift.” I did as she asked, watching her remove my shoe, sock, and pant leg before following suit with my right.

  This was a strange situation, strange in a great way. Never had I sat back while a woman called the shots. It wasn’t because of some macho bullshit. It just never went down that way before. Yet, there I stood completely naked before her while she was still fully clothed on her knees looking up at me, waiting for her next move…and it was one of the most erotic moments of my entire life.

  “Angela,” I pathetically begged. I needed something, a touch, her mouth…fuck, I’d probably come if she just breathed on me.

  She didn’t respond when she stood and led me to the high-back chair in the corner. The moment I sat, she knelt in between my spread knees. Her body pressed my cock between us when she leaned forward to kiss me. In desperation, I gripped her head holding her to m
y mouth. I lifted my hips searching for relief any way I could get it.

  She allowed me to kiss her roughly, opening wider to give my tongue entry. The only reason I let her break the kiss was because she began to run open-mouthed kisses across my jaw, down my neck, lower and lower until…

  “Fuuuuck,” I said on one long drawn-out exhale.

  The moment her mouth covered my crown I knew this wouldn’t be lasting very long. Self-control was nowhere to be found. My dignity left the fucking building with it. When she lowered her mouth over my length, my moan sounded like I was actually in pain. I knew she wouldn’t stop now, yet I still held her head to ensure that she didn’t. She alternated firm sucks with long strokes, over and over. With each moment that passed, I wished this could go on forever. I released her head to grip the arms of the chair. I could literally feel my orgasm traveling through me, down my body, through my cock, and into her mouth.

  Somewhere between my explosive release and the point when I came back down to earth, she had curled up in my lap while nibbling on my neck.

  “My God,” I said unable to open my eyes.

  There was only one other time I’d had a blow job as fucking perfect as this one, and not coincidentally, it was from her two years ago.

  She ran a hand through my hair. “You okay?”

  “I’m more than okay. Give me a minute, though. You wrecked me.”

  She settled in my lap against my chest, waiting for me to recover. Having her there, wrapped in my arms, was just what I needed to regain control. I’d lost all control to my wife, completely submitted to her, and realized at that moment that she owned me—mind, body, and soul.

  —

  “Hi,” she said when I opened my eyes.

  What the ever-loving fuck? Had I fallen asleep?

  “I’m so sorry, baby,” I said feeling horrible.

  “For what?”

  “I can’t believe I fell asleep. I guess the stress of the wedding caught up to me.”

  “Or I just blew you into a coma.”

  “What?” I laughed at her smug statement.

  “I did. I literally sucked the life out of you.”

  “Not too cocky, are we?” She grinned at my innuendo.

  “I’d say proud and cocksure.”

  “You should be proud. That was amazing, and yes, you did wipe me out. How long was I asleep?”

  “Like ten minutes.” She stood to stretch, still in her ivory dress. Her eyes traveled down the length of my completely naked body. That switch in dynamics stirred me again, waking my cock up for another round.

  “Are you hungry? You didn’t eat much today.”

  “Actually, I’m starving.”

  I sat forward, reaching for her. My hands slipped under her dress and traveled up her bare legs until I hit satin. I kissed her flat belly before asking, “Can you wait a bit more? I really need to consummate this marriage, and then I’ll feed you.”

  She ran her hands through my hair, looking down at my upturned face. “I can wait.”

  “Good.” Without peeking beneath her dress, I slowly skimmed my hands around to the front of her torso and then to her back again. She pushed forward, resting her forearms on my shoulders for support. I loved feeling the combination of her smooth skin beneath my touch and the smooth velvet that still separated us. I loved the mystery of not knowing what was under this dress. My fingers found the edge of her panties, pulling them down until they pooled at her feet. She lifted each leg releasing them from her ankles.

  While our eyes remained connected, I moved a hand to rest over her pussy. It was warm beneath my touch. With the lightest touch, I skimmed over her from front to back. Her head fell back, her breathing accelerated. When I stood suddenly, she gripped my shoulders as she swayed unsteadily.

  “Turn around.”

  She slowly turned, facing away from me. I hated to remove my touch from her warmth, but at the same time I needed to in order to see her naked, in order to consume every inch of her.

  I stepped closer, moving her hair over one shoulder. My lips attached to the smooth skin on her neck, nibbling at her lobe, licking at her pulse point. She tilted her head away, giving me better access. Never stopping my kisses and licks, I slowly lowered the zipper of her dress. Only then did I focus on the strip of exposed skin between the opened zipper. Using the back of my fingers, I ran my hand down from her neck to the top of her ass, before pushing the dress away so it fell to the ground.

  She stood before me, naked except for her ivory satin bra. I held a hand out to her, which she took in hers. Knowingly, she stepped out of her dress waiting for more instruction. I unclasped her bra, sending that to the ground to join her dress. Stepping up directly behind her, pressing my hardness into the crevice of her ass, I held her breasts in my hands and resumed nipping on her ear.

  My cock throbbed, desperately wanting to be in her warmth. We had all night to do all we wanted to each other, but all I wanted now was to be inside her. I lifted her, carried her to the bed, and slid right into her without warning.

  Euphoria caused her eyes to close, her lips to part as I pumped myself in and out of her excruciatingly slowly. The build toward our orgasms was just as powerful as the release. By the time I felt her clenching around me, I could barely hold on any longer. We came within seconds of each other, and it was pure perfection once we did.

  She held my head and kissed my lips sweetly. “I love you, Nick.”

  “I love you, Angela.”

  I did. I loved her more than she’d ever know.

  Chapter 33

  Nick

  The gazillion-thread-count sheets that surrounded us had nothing on the smoothness of her skin. Every inch of her body was pressed up against mine. It felt so perfect being there with her, and it would be very hard to leave the warmth of that fabulous bed.

  “Can we stay here forever? Let’s get Nicholas and become squatters,” she suggested while tilting her head to look up at me.

  “I’m game, but Nicholas may not be happy here.”

  “Really, I just need this bed. Think they’d notice us walking out with it?”

  “I’ll duplicate it for you at home.”

  “Aww, you’d do that for me?”

  I looked down at her, moving her hair away from her face. “Absolutely. I owe you a wedding present. What better one could you think of?” I lifted her hand that rested on my bare chest. “I also owe you a proper engagement ring.”

  “I don’t need that, Nick. This ring says all I need it to say, I’m yours.”

  “That you are.” Closing the distance between us, I took her lips in a firm kiss.

  Part of me would have loved nothing more than to stay in this room forever with her, our son, and no one else. Unfortunately, reality was about to hit us soon. Meshing our lives would be the first thing we needed to accomplish, not to mention addressing my work situation. I’d been on leave for almost two weeks, and I needed to find David.

  Once we consummated our marriage, we ate a delicious meal while naked. We took a bath together, which turned into a frantic quickie that ended up saturating the bathroom floor. We stayed up all night talking, and making love. Managing tiny naps here and there before one of us woke and initiated more talking or more lovemaking.

  I was engulfed by a state of contentment that I’d never felt before, and I wished I could bottle it to carry with me wherever I went.

  “We need to get going soon.”

  “We have a little time left,” I argued. Before we left, I needed to have her once more in this fucking amazing bed.

  Angela had already checked in with Eve. She said Nicholas was with Angela’s parents in Jersey. They decided to take him home after the wedding and were planning on bringing him back to Angela’s place this afternoon. So, there was no rush for us to get back, and, as Eve said, we should take advantage of every minute we were gifted with.

  And I planned to.

  I shifted so that we were now lying side by side. She smiled up at me
when I kissed the tip of her nose. “Are you sore?” I asked.

  “Yes, in the most delicious way.”

  I reached below the fluffy duvet and found her warm pussy. With feather-like strokes, I asked, “Do you want me to kiss it better?”

  “Is that rhetorical?”

  “Most definitely not.”

  In a grand gesture, I disappeared under the comforter causing her to giggle. Her giggles immediately ceased when I placed one hand on each thigh to spread her legs before settling between them. Placing a single kiss over her clit, the muscles in her thighs tightened beneath my touch. I paused a moment before doing it again. After another pause, I swiped my tongue up her center and continued devouring her like she was my last meal.

  Her hips moved with the rhythm I fell into. Tiny gasps were barely audible from the cocoon I was hiding under.

  “Nick,” she called out in a desperate plea. “Please.”

  “What, baby?” I asked against her.

  “Please, I need you.”

  She didn’t have to ask me twice. I would have loved to eat her into a climax, but I selfishly wanted my own release as well. Crawling up her body, planting kisses along the way, I emerged from under the comforter coming face-to-face with her. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes wild with desire. I kissed her long and hard while I rubbed my cock across her moisture. She lifted her knees, reached for me, and pushed me inside her.

  With a satisfied smile, she began to move against my thrusts. Her fingers gripped my back, the heels of her feet pushed against my ass. She swallowed my entire length, taking me hostage as I lost myself in her in every way.

  Holding on by a thread, waiting to watch her ride her orgasm was torturous. But I didn’t want to miss the gorgeousness that was about to come undone before me. Once she finally did, I quickened my thrusts, grunting with each one. It wasn’t long before I exploded in an earth-shattering release.

  “My God, I can’t get enough of you,” I murmured against the skin of her neck. My dead weight pressed her into the marshmallow-like bed, but I couldn’t move just yet.